DEA-C01 Data Ingestion and Transformation Practice Question
A data engineer needs to move 50 TB of existing data from an on-premises data center into Amazon S3 as a one-time migration. The data center has a 1 Gbps internet connection that is shared with production traffic, and the migration must complete within two weeks without disrupting production. Which approach should the engineer use?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is focusing on transfer speed features like Transfer Acceleration while ignoring that the shared 1 Gbps link is the real bottleneck.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use AWS Snowball Edge Storage Optimized devices to ship the data to AWS.
A 50 TB one-time migration over a shared 1 Gbps link cannot reliably finish in two weeks without harming production traffic. AWS Snowball Edge Storage Optimized devices move the data physically, sidestepping the bandwidth constraint entirely. Network-based options such as DataSync, Transfer Family, or Transfer Acceleration all depend on the same limited connection and therefore do not meet the stated requirements.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Use Amazon S3 Transfer Acceleration with multipart uploads from the data center.
Why it's wrong here
Transfer Acceleration speeds up uploads by routing through edge locations, but it cannot exceed the source's available outbound bandwidth. With a shared 1 Gbps link, the transfer would still be slow and would still compete with production. It improves latency and throughput over long distances but does not solve the fundamental bandwidth and disruption problem.
- ✓
Use AWS Snowball Edge Storage Optimized devices to ship the data to AWS.
Why this is correct
Snowball Edge Storage Optimized devices are designed for large one-time migrations where network transfer is impractical. Shipping devices avoids consuming the shared 1 Gbps link and can move 50 TB well within two weeks. The data is copied to the device on-premises and imported into S3 after AWS receives it, meeting both the timing and non-disruption requirements.
- ✗
Use AWS Transfer Family with SFTP to upload the files to Amazon S3.
Why it's wrong here
Transfer Family provides managed SFTP, FTPS, and FTP endpoints into S3, but it still relies on the same network path and bandwidth. A 50 TB transfer over a shared 1 Gbps connection would be slow and would contend with production traffic. It solves protocol management, not the bandwidth and disruption constraints described.
- ✗
Use AWS DataSync over the internet to copy the data directly to Amazon S3.
Why it's wrong here
DataSync over the internet would compete with production traffic on a shared 1 Gbps link. At that bandwidth, 50 TB would take many days of saturated transfer and likely exceed the two-week window once contention is considered. It also risks degrading production services, which the scenario explicitly forbids. A physical or dedicated approach is more appropriate.
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This DEA-C01 question is part of Courseiva's 1,321-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Amazon Web Services exam blueprint
This DEA-C01 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Amazon Web Services certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the DEA-C01 exam.